Colchester United apprentices have been making a difference in the community this half-term, supporting the club’s community staff with the delivery of holiday activities aimed at young people in the local area.
First year apprentices; Bayan Aman, Jaime Tedaldi, Bradley Chakawa, Freddie Price, Jaiden Drakes-Thomas, Kaan Bennett, Matt Yates, Sean Brown and T’aizo Marcel-Dilaver, alongside second year scholar Kacy Parish got some hands-on experience coaching and contributing to several of initiatives ran by the club’s Community team.
Freddie Price and Matt Yates worked with Community Staff to support children who are entitled to free school meals and children whose parents require childcare support on the Activate programme at Shrub End Community Sports Centre.
Meanwhile, LFE apprentices Bayan Aman, Bradley Chakawa, Jaime Tedaldi, Kaan Bennett and Jaiden Drakes-Thomas helped the Girls Development Centre staff on the girls’ half-term training camps.
Kacy Parish, Sean Brown and T’aizo Marcel-Dilaver went along to support the Boys U13 Development Squad fixture vs local grass roots team at Florence Park the Colchester United Training Ground.
While these experiences help enhance the apprentices’ life skills and personal development, the visits can be logged as part of their SEP Programme, and later used in their End Point Assessment. LFE also rewards those that try to engage with local community projects in ‘The 11’ – a triannual award that highlights academic progress; on-the-field success and achievements in the local community.
Speaking to the club website, young midfielder Bayan Aman said: “I really enjoyed my time helping the community and it is something that I will look to do a lot more in the future. As I get older and start to begin my football career, helping and getting involved with others will not only help the community but also me. I loved it”
Natasha Dyer, Colchester United’s Youth Player Care Manager added: “The scholars’ work in the community was very successful for all involved. The scholars were put out of their comfort zone and on the other side of training, rather than being the player. I think this type of experience can be beneficial for many reasons for these young men in support of their future development and life experience.”
The Scholars were also visited by PFA Community Liaison Executive, Dave Palmer, who commented on the work the PFA do to support professional footballers personally and professionally “It was fantastic to catch up with club’s younger players who I know all enjoyed the sessions put on by Colchester United Football in the Community. The PFA see scholar engagement as an important part of a young players development outside there playing environment and visits like this helps players develop an understanding of good citizenship and being a positive influence on the community. Colchester United Football in the Community have provided these opportunities for a number of years and along with the Academy should be applauded for their pro-active approach in helping the clubs future stars to improve and develop as individuals away from the pitch”
Colchester United Football in the Community’s Community Performance Manager, Rick Goldsbrough, was delighted to see the apprentices so engaged during their visits: “It’s great to have the Scholars back with us in the community supporting the activities we provide young people in our local community as part of our half-term holiday programmes. The experiences these opportunities provide these lads, supports their education they’re currently studying, helps develop their personal skills and hopefully will set them up for being roles models as first team players in the future engaging with their community.
